Rhode moves into fifth place on the all-time win list
By earning the Ithaca Tournament championship Saturday in mid-Michigan, senior Chris Rhode improved to 30-1 on the season and moved past Preston Mertz into fifth place on the all-time RCHS win list. Rhode, who was 3-0 at Ithaca and 2-0 at home duals last Thursday, has 149 career victories. Next in line is Casey Viegelahn with 154 wins in fourth place. The gap between third and fourth is a lot wider between Viegelahn and Zach Centala with 190 victories. Rhode, who has won 24 straight matches, would need 41 more wins to tie, and there won’t be enough matches to accomplish that.
Rhode was one of two Hurons to take a first at Ithaca. He was joined by junior Cody Wenzel (140 pounds, 26-6) as a tournament champ. Four Rogers City grapplers wrestled in the finals. Juniors Brian Krueger (103, 27-5) and Dylan Centala (135, 28-3) lost their bouts for first.
AS A TEAM, the Hurons placed fifth with 131 points, 34 points out of fourth and 77 points out of first, which was captured by Hesperia. “I was a little disappointed,” said coach Pat Lamb. “You’re not going to win many tournaments by only placing six kids. We just didn’t get a lot of contributions from a lot of the weight classes.
“We definitely have seen that Addison and Hesperia are the cream of the crop in Division IV. We just need to keep improving and get healthy.” Hesperia had nine wrestlers place fourth or higher including three in first. Rhode’s path to the championship included a pin in 41 seconds and an 11-5 decision. Against Dustin Battle of Chippewa Hills for first, he earned a 7-3 decision. “Chris was pretty much dominant on the day,” said Lamb. “He continues to impress his coach with his approach to each match. He is just so comfortable on the mat right now. Hopefully, that will continue right on through to the state tournament.”
WENZEL, WHO is three wins away from joining the century club, earned a 13-0 decision in his first match and then pinned his next opponent at the close of the first period. He went up 4-1 in the championship match against Austin Alvord of Sanford Meridian and held on for a one-point decision, 4-3. “Cody got the number one seed and he was kind of surprised by that,” said Lamb. “The coaches have seen something in Cody that has inspired them to award him a number one seed. He is looking for a strong finish to the season.” Krueger lost 5-2 to the number one seed of the tournament, John Delia of Rochester. “Brian’s learning more and more about himself every time, that he belongs in the upper echelon of 103 this year,” said Lamb.
Centala is one of a handful of wrestlers battling various illnesses and ailments. He lost to Todd Barton of St. Louis, 13-2. “Everything Dylan tried, the kid was able to counter,” said Lamb. Centala moved into nin
NEXT UP is duals at Cheboygan today against the home school and Onaway. Saturday, the boys are at Gaylord for the Northern Michigan Wrestling Championships. Wrestling for athletes from 28 schools begins at 10 a.m. The JV wrestlers will be at Sault Ste. Marie for a tournament.
The Hurons improved to 15-3 on the season with a pair of wins at home last Thursday against Sault Ste. Marie and Mio. Rogers City defeated the Blue Devils, 63-16, and the Thunderbolts, 45-30. Double winners included Michael Vogler (103, 12-7), Krueger, Brent Freel (119, 23-5), Centala, Wenzel, Schuiteman, and Tyler Gorlewski (215, 22-10). Single winners were Mike Mierzwinski (125, 14-15), Jerome Gapczynski (152, 17-11), Matt Tomas (160, 7-13), and Grulke.